Becoming an Entrepreneur Tips

Read these 14 Becoming an Entrepreneur Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Entrepreneur tips and hundreds of other topics.

Becoming an Entrepreneur Tips
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Affirmations work best when written in the present tense, as if you already live the desire you seek. This is to "trick" your subconscious mind into believing it is true, so it will work with the universe to make it so. An affirmation needs to be short, easy to remember and positive -- the subconscious mind will drop any "not" or "never" it comes across.

Do you use affirmations to help you change the way you think for the better? Although you can't depend on affirmations alone, they are a key component for success. To use them effectively you need to interact with them, fell the emotion they represent. One way to do this is to place your current affirmation in a wide variety of places so you will be reminded of your goal throughout the day. Here are some suggested locations: your journal's cover, wardrobe doors, refrigerator door, bathroom mirror, sun visor in your car (for when you are parked, of course!), your wallet and the side of your computer screen.

You've set your objective, but do you know why you want to reach it? The WHY is the motivating factor -- without it, you may fail to reach your goals. Your WHY will most likely be a result. For example, you want to make six figures this year in your business because of the freedom it will provide you. Focus on that outcome to stay motivated in your day-to-day tasks to reach that goal.

I know this may sound odd, but in order for your affirmations to come true, you need to relax and let them go. Trying to make them happen can actually slow down the process by introducing stress and strife. Say your affirmation, then relax into trust that it will happen.

O.K. Sometimes things don't always go according to plan. Get over it. Dust yourself off and carry on. As author John C. Maxwell says, fail forward. Find a positive meaning or learning from the experience. When you focus on the positive, you won't get bogged down by the negative. Think of it this way, is it really worth all your time and effort to stay stuck in anger and angst? Grab some sugar and make some lemonade, lemon meringue pie or even lemon chiffon cake!

A journal can help you chart your entrepreneurial course. It can help you through choppy waters, as well as calm seas. Use the journal to gather your thoughts. Write down your wildest brain storms. Jot down notes from self-development books. Express your daily gratitude to help you keep moving forward. Use your journal as a store house for ideas you want to remember but can't work on right now. And, every once in awhile got back and find those gems and see how far you've cove on your entrepreneurial journey.

Many in the self development field talk about the importance and effectiveness of affirmations. Basically, the idea is to change the way you think for the better through repetition of positive statements. One good affirmatio to start out with come from Brian Tracy's book, "Chage Your Life, Change Your Thinking": I am a thoroughly good person and I am going to be a big success in life." Everything that happens to me, good or bad, is simply a part of the process of achieving the great success and happiness that are inevitable for me.

Innovation and creativity are siblings. Teresa M. Amabile, Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at Harvard Business School, once explained the relationship this way: "All innovation begins with creative ideas." She defined innovation as "the successful implementation of creative ideas within an organization," and believed that creativity was a necessary but not sufficient condition for" innovation. Successful entrepreneurs are not only creative, but they are able to take their creativity and run with it, creating innovative solutions to the challenges their target market faces. This innovative spirit drives them to ever improve upon their ideas and leads to success in many of their endeavors.

Many new entrepreneurs never get past the planning stages of starting a business. Why? Is it because they lack certain skills that successful entrepreneurs do? Maybe. More than likely though, with all the planning, there was never a clear goal in mind for the entrepreneur to reach. It is easier to get to where you want to be if you know where you are going in the first place. Having clear, defined, “finish line” goals helps you move forward and put your plan into action. Imagine for a moment what your business may actually be like once it's off the ground. What are you doing? What do your products look like? What sort of income are you making? Are you a giant enterprise or a small, yet successful shop owner? Write down your thoughts in a business journal. Make it your goal. Then create action steps on how to achieve to your goals.

One key trait of successful entrepreneurs is creativity. Entrepreneurs create opportunity where others see none. They build businesses, develop products, create services that meet a need. Nurture this creativity. Keep abreast of new ways to do business. Keep an eye out for new ideas. Read widely. Watch out for needs that are not being met. Follow trends and create a vision for where you think that trend is heading. And, when inspiration is being a fickle mistress, ask you customers what they want. Often their answers will inspire you.

Success is very personal. One person's failure can very well be another's success. Therefore, you need to set measurable goals for what you consider success. What milestone along the way do you consider important? Only then can you know if you have succeeded or faced a setback.

Winston Churchill once said, "Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts." This is the essence of determination and it is a key trait of successful entrepreneurs. When you have a vision, if it will come to life, you have to have the determination to make it so. You will face challenges along the way, but determination will see you through to the end. One way you can help the process is to break long-term goals down into several short-term goals. Then, as you achieve each milestone along the path, celebrate your successes. Nothing breeds success better than success!

Yes, it can be a trite saying, but no one is an island. No successful entrepreneur has gone it alone and done it all by herself. You need a team so you can delegate those tasks that don't play to your strengths. You need to be the leader. For each task you do, ask yourself, "Does this play to my strength? Is this the best use of my time?" If your answers are no or even not really, delegate! This can be the key to the growth of your business. As someone wise once said, "Nothing is impossible if you can delegate."

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